Packing-case.



ITO-806,523.- PATBNTED 1150.5,1905.

T. H. CLEMENT, JR.

PACKING CASE.

' APPLICATION rum) 1120.22.1904.

.unm 1 ATTORNEYS WITNESSES:

' X W iZMF UNITED S ATES" PATEN oinrion.

THOMAS HOULTEN CLEMENT, JR, OF PORT LAVAOA, TEXAS.

' PACKlNG-CASEL i Patented Dec. '5, 1905.

Application filed December 22, 1904:; Serial No. 237,944.

To all whom it may concern;-

Be itknown'that I, THOMAS HOULTEN CLEM- ENT, J r., a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Port Lavaca, in the county of Calhoun and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Packing-Case, of which the following is a. full, clear, and exact description.

ceptacle'which will contain a large quantity of oysters without subjecting them to great pressure. l

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter. i I

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 isa vertical longitudinal section through a shipping-case, showing the inner vessel in elevation. This figure represents the shipping-case as closed. Fig. 2 is a partial Vertical longitudinal section showing the open extremity of the inclosing receptacle or box which surrounds thelnner vessel. This view represents the cover 1n the act of being removed and certain parts as broken away.

n Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken substantially upon the line'3 30f Fig. 1;-and Fig. 4 is a partial end elevation of the case, showing a handle attached thereto. 7

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents a case or casing, preferably constructed of wood and consisting of a body 2 of rectangular form, as shown, which body substantiallyconstitutes a box. This body is preferably of elongated form, and its side, top, and bottom walls are securely. attached to its These parts are preferably reinforced by steel bands or hoops 4, passing completely around the body, as indicated. The bottom wall 5 of the box or body is preferably formed of transverselydisposed members 6, and near the end walls this bottom is preferably provided with openings 7, the purpose of which will appear more fully hereinafter. Near the longitudinaledges of the bottom bearing-strips 8 are longitudinal 1y attached, and upon these strips'the Weight of the casing and its contents rests.

Resting simply upon thebottom 5 a cylin:

drical vessel or oyster-can 9 is disposed horizontally, as shown, the opening from the can being closed by a suitable screw-cap ,10, in

connection with which suitable staples 11 are .used, through which a sealing tin or wire 12 is passed. The can 9 is kept from rolling about in the interior of the casing by means,

' serted and closed a removable cover 14 is applied to the same, as indicated. This cover is provided with projecting cleats 15, which are attached to its inner' face, and these cleats are adapted to be received behind a transverse member 16, formedat the opening of the box and cooperating with .the cover to constitute an end wall for the case, as will'be readily understood. The edges and the inner face of the I cover 14: are preferably covered by acontinuoussheetof feltf17 or similar material. shown, the cleats 15 are attached remotely from each other, so that their outer edges 18 when the cover is in position substantially abut against the side walls of the box.. The lower edges 19 of the cleats are preferably beveled, as indicated, so as to facilitate their seating'between the top of the box and the side bars 13.

Atthe under side of the bottom 5 a catch 20 is provided, which consists of a resilient tongue having a laterally-bent tip 21, which is adapted to go up behind thecover, as illustrated in Fig. 1, in such a manner as to retain the same in position, as will be readilyunderstood.

From the above description and from an inspection of Fig. 3 it will now appear that when the can is in position chambers 22 23 will be formed, respectively, above and below the axis of the can, and these chambers are adapted to receive'broken ice.

It should be ment the principal portion of the ice will be carried above the inner receptacle and the refrigerating effects will be consequently increased. Furthermore, larger pieces of ice may be carried by this arrangement, and this operates advantageously to prolong the duration of the refrigeration.

Upon the side of the can, near the upper extremity thereof, suitable handles 24 would be attached for the purpose of facilitating the Withdrawal of the can when necessary. When inserting the can, it may be well to dispose these handles as indicated, so that they lie in either of the ice-chambers and do not engage the bars 13 13, so as to prevent the can from being placed in position.

The water which forms from the melting ice will find exit from the case through the aforesaid opening 7 through the bottom 5.

The end walls of the case are preferably provided with handles 25, which facilitate the lifting and carrying of the case from place to place.

The presence of the sheet of felt 17 is advantageous, as it constitutes a resilient pad or cushion operating to prevent longitudinal movement of the can-body Without preventing a tight closing of the cover into position.

With a packing vessel disposed upon its side, as illustrated, a large quantity of oysters may be carried without subjecting the oysters to great pressure,as would otherwise be the case near the bottom. The fact that the shape of the outside casing does not conform to the cylindricalshape of the inner vessel is also advantageous, as it affords more ample packing-space for the ice without unduly increasing the space occupied by the casein shipping. The fact that the case is of the general form of a box also facilitates close packing of the cases. as will be readily understood.

The refrigerating effects of a packing-case constructed as described are excellent, for the reason that the ice is held in separate compartments at different levels, which compartments extend throughout the entire length of the inner receptacle. As a result when the ice melts it cannot all accumulate at the bottom of the packing-case, but is distributed about the surface of the inner receptacle until it is entirely melted. Thus in the packing-case described there will be four centers of refrigeration extending throughout the entire length of the inner receptacle.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent A packing-case consisting of an outer body having substantially the form of a box, and an inner vessel of substantially cylindrical form resting upon the bottom of said body, said body having a longitudinally-disposed bar attached to the upper wall thereof and projecting down to a point near theperiphery of said inner vessel, and other bars disposed longitudinally and projecting inwardly from the side walls of said body, and lying adjacent to the sides of said inner vessel, said bars affording means for dividing said body into separate compartments above and below said inner vessel and adapted to receive ice.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

THOMAS HOULTEN CLEMENT, JR.

Witnesses:

J. H. BIOKFORD, N. G. PETERSON. 

